Vehicles such as automobiles usually include a climate control or HVAC system, which may be manually and/or automatically controlled. Most modern vehicles employ electronic control technologies to control the operation of their HVAC systems. One or more onboard electronic control modules (ECMs) are deployed to support a variety of electronic HVAC components, such as blowers, actuators, temperature sensors, heater elements, and the like. To simplify manufacturing of the vehicle, the various HVAC components can be assembled together into an integrated HVAC module, which can be quickly and easily installed into the host vehicle.
A number of electronic control and data communication techniques and technologies are utilized in connection with the deployment of an HVAC module for a vehicle. For example, some HVAC components may generate analog sensor signals that must be detected and processed, and other HVAC components may support digital data communication and networking protocols. In Europe, for example, a proprietary control and communication protocol known as “COOLING” is used in many vehicle HVAC systems. Although the COOLING protocol is satisfactory for deployment in Europe, it does not meet some of the stricter operating requirements mandated in other countries such as the United States.